Digital Media Director

Position Summary

 

The Digital Media Director is responsible for advancing the museum goals and objectives through creating and maintaining an effective, multifaceted digital media infrastructure focused on developing digital services with the end-user and best practices in mind.

The director’s role is centered on the museum’s mission of Welcoming All, and belief in the museum as a cause for social good and a positive, dynamic force for transforming lives.

The position is a senior-level role in the museum’s Communications department, an in-house agency covering public relations, marketing, creative services, and digital media for Crystal Bridges as well as the Momentary, a new center for contemporary visual and performing arts opened in 2020.

The Digital Media Director leads a team responsible for the implementation and management of the museum’s digital communications tools, including websites for Crystal Bridges and the Momentary, digital signage, and digital engagement elements including apps, audio guides, in-gallery interactives, and more.

Principal Responsibilities

  • Oversee the development of the museum’s digital media strategy focusing on current systems as well as emerging digital technologies.
  • Manage a team that includes web development, UX/UI design, project management.
  • Oversee the Crystal Bridges and the Momentary websites, and integrate management of the sites into ongoing processes, including:
    • Ensuring ease of use for visitors with planning visits, membership, calendar/events, and ticketing functions;
    • Overseeing content development with SEO best practices in mind;
    • Managing UX/UI design best practices to ensure accessibility;
    • Establishing analytics and tracking, including tracking revenue as an outcome of marketing efforts;
    • Ensuring that the interface between websites is streamlined for an easy visitor experience across all devices.
  • Oversee development of all digital elements at Crystal Bridges and the Momentary, including:
    • Digital signage and wayfinding;
    • Digital information screens;
    • In gallery engagement screens.
  • Work closely with the museum’s communications teams to develop strategic plans/budgets to help various departments in the museum achieve goals through digital media integration.
  • Work closely with ticketing and data management teams to ensure ease of integration with digital elements and following best practices.
  • Manage relationships with vendors and agencies as needed.
  • Manage the budget for Digital Media including expenses for new projects as well as maintenance costs for existing and ongoing services and projects.
  • Ensure that digital elements adhere to branding and graphic standards.
  • This role is responsible for emergency support or response for mission-critical functions, thus receives a phone stipend.
  • Other duties as assigned.

MinimumQualifications

The ideal candidate is collaborative and hands-on with a passion for the museum’s mission and the ability to create digital elements that reach diverse communities.

Education, Training and Traits:

  • Degree from an accredited institution of higher education.
  • Knowledge of Semantic, standards compliant HTML5, CSS3, SASS, and JavaScript / ES6.
  • Well versed in version control systems (Git, or CVS).
  • Experience with content management systems such as WordPress.
  • Experience with cross-browser compatibility and accessibility.
  • Well versed in SEO and Accessibility best practices.
  • A keen eye for design and UX/UI expertise.
  • Ability to manage a highly productive and engaged team.
  • Ability to provide constructive critique and feedback.
  • Ability to understand and maintain the highest levels of confidentiality.
  • Highest ethics as they relate to all aspects of museum practices.

Work Experience:

  • Four (4) years work experience in a Web/Digital Design field.
  • Supervisory experience.

Skills and Abilities:

  • A demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and professionally.
  • Effective interpersonal skills.
  • Self-directed, able to work independently and effectively.
  • Demonstrated organizational planning, problem-solving and collaboration skills.

 

 

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Sitting or leaning while on post will not be permitted.

  • Physical demands:  Position requires working in Museum Galleries for prolonged periods of time. This position requires standing, walking and climbing stairs, bending and stretching, and physical stamina to lift a minimum of 50 pounds unassisted. This position requires visual acuity to review written materials is required for this job.
  • Work Environment:  Work will be performed in an office environment, museum spaces. Additionally, Strong communication skills and ability to interact politely and effectively with a wide range of Museum members, visitors, volunteers and staff. Effectively utilize museum communications system. Communicate with public safety, fire and other local or state emergency personnel in an effective and calm manor.
  • Position requires Shift Leads to work rotating shifts in order to learn and facilitate departmental and facility needs.
  • Position requires ongoing flexibility in work hours due to events, staffing needs and other factors.

 

About Crystal Bridges 

The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding American art. Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 as a non-profit charitable organization by arts patron and chair of the museum’s board of directors, Alice Walton. Since opening to the public on 11-11-11, the museum has welcomed more than 5 million visitors and garnered 15,000 membership households. Some 280,000 school children have participated in the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit program, which provides educational experiences for school groups at no cost.

 

Crystal Bridges takes its name from a nearby natural spring and the bridge construction incorporated in the building, designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. A series of pavilions nestled around two spring-fed ponds house the galleries and amenities such as a restaurant, museum store designed by architect Marlon Blackwell, and a library featuring more than 50,000 volumes of art reference material. In addition to the museum’s architecture, a Usonian house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was preserved, acquired, and moved to the museum grounds in 2015, and a rare Buckminster Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome was installed in 2017, both providing access to American architectural masterworks in a natural setting.

 

Sculpture and walking trails link the museum’s 120-acre park to downtown Bentonville, Arkansas. A new entrance, elevator tower, and pedestrian bridge was added to the north side of the building in 2017, increasing access to the museum’s north lawn and newly enhanced North Forest Trail. More than 600,000 visitors a year utilize the museum’s five miles of walking trails.

 

Crystal Bridges’ permanent collection spans five centuries of American artworks from early American to the present, and is always free to view. Crystal Bridges is committed to telling broad and inclusive stories by acquiring and showcasing the highest quality works by artists underrepresented in art history and conventional museum frameworks. Works such as Asher B. Durand’s Kindred Spirits, Gilbert Stuart’s George Washington, and Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed are displayed alongside contemporary artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Maya Lin, Fritz Scholder, Jaune Quick-To-See-Smith, Felix Gonzales-Torres, and Amy Sherald represent some of the finest achievements in American art. The collection continues to grow, while the museum also offers temporary exhibitions that complement the collection and can also reveal art’s connections to equality and justice.

 

Crystal Bridges provides year-round programming for all ages. In 2019, more than 800 public programs and events were offered, including lectures, performances, classes, and continuing education for K-12 teachers. Crystal Bridges stays connected online with the full collection available via eMuseum, an award-winning app, a podcast called Museum Way, all available for free, and many of the museum’s lectures such as the Distinguished Speaker Series are on Crystal Bridges’ YouTube channel. An online-learning initiative provides opportunities for students and teachers with arts-based courses, as well as SmartHistory with arts history videos and essays. Crystal Bridges also offers two research fellowship programs. The Tyson Scholars in American Art program encourages and supports full-time scholarship that seeks to expand boundaries and traditional categories of investigation into American art and visual culture. The Reese Teacher Fellowship provides for research into the development of interdisciplinary connections between American art and core curriculum subjects of language arts, history, social studies, and the sciences. In addition, Crystal Bridges administers the awarding of the Don Tyson Prize, an unprecedented award recognizing significant achievements in the field of American art. Additional information about Crystal Bridges is available online at CrystalBridges.org.

 

About the Momentary 

The Momentary is a new contemporary art space that opened to the public on February 22, 2020, in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas. A satellite to Crystal Bridges, the Momentary presents visual, performing, and culinary arts. The mission of the Momentary is to champion contemporary art’s role in everyday life and explore the unfolding story of contemporary American arts in an international context by actively commissioning and exhibiting outstanding works that explore new ideas and inspire action. The Momentary was founded by the Walton family, based on the vision of Tom, Olivia, and Steuart Walton. The Walton Family Foundation is supporting this project as a way to enhance the quality of life in Northwest Arkansas. The Momentary welcomes all with free general admission. Additional offerings include an artist-in-residence program, culinary experiences including an Onyx Coffee Lab, indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, an outdoor festival space, and a gift store. For more information, visit theMomentary.org. The Momentary is located at 507 SE E Street, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712.